Rail-clamp.



J. P. BRADBN & W. D. PALMER.

RAIL CLAMP. APPLIoATIoN FILED JUNE 17, 191s.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESS/58 Jose /7 P Braderz ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH co..wASHlNC\TuN. ILc.

JOSEPH P. BRAIJEN, or s'r. PAUL,

AND WILLIAM n. PALMER, or MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA. i

RAIL-CLAMP.

To all wlom t may concern Be it known that we, JOSEPH P. BRADEN and l/VILLIAM D. PALMER, citizens of the United States, and residents, respectively, of St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, and Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin andpState of Minnesota, have invented a new and Improved Bail-Clamp, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description. I

This invention relates to rail clamps adapted for use in connection with steam shovels and similar machinery for maintaining the same immovable on the track.

The invention has for its general object to improve and simplify the construction of devices of this character so as to be comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, of durable and substantial of being readily attached to or detached from the rail.

Another obj ect of the invention is the provision of a clamping device of the double jaw type having novelmeans forholding the jaws closed on a rail and additional means for wedging the j aw elements on .the rail.

Vith these objects in view, and others as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto. i

ln the accompanying` drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and wherein similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a side view of t-he rail clamp shown applied to a rail; F ig. 2 `is a front view of the device; Figs. 3- and l are vertical sections on the linesr3-3 and 4 4: of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the device.

Referring to the drawing, A and B designatej aw members of the clamp, one member having at Vits upper portion a hinge eye or knuckle 1 and the other hinge Oeyes or knuckles 2, which are spaced apart to receive between them the knuckle 1, and passing through the knuckles, which have pintle openings 3, is a pintle in the form of a bolt 4, wherebythe two jaw members are hingedly connected together. Each jaw member has an invertedl U-shaped handle 5 formed integrally or otherwise connected with its p Specification of Letters Patent. Applicatin led I une 17, 1913.

design and capable' crank arms 13 which Patented Sept. 30, 1913. Serial No. 774,212.

jaw member, and these handles or grips are so related that they can be gripped by the hands to force the rail-engaging extremities or jaws 6 apart. The inner or opposed faces of the jaws 6 have recesses 7 to conform to` the head of an ordinary T-rail 8.

The jaw elements A and B are locked vclosed by a pair of parallel looking devices or bolts 9 which are journaled in openings 10 in the jaw element B, there being on one end of each rotary locking member 9 a laterally-extending lug or head 11 which is movable through a slot 12 in the jaw element A. This Slot is elongated vertically and the heads 18 of the locking bolts can pass into and out of the slots when such heads are also disposed vertically. When the jaws are in closed position, as shown in Fig. 1,'the heads 11 of the bolts are turned 45o more or less so as to throw the heads 11 out of alinement with the slots 12 and into engagement with the outer face of the jaw A, whereby the jaws are held together. On the ends ofthe locking members or bolts 9 opposite from the heads or lugs 11 are are united by a link 14 to maintain parallelism between the lugs 11 of the bolts, and also to enable the bolts to be moved simultaneously to or from locking position. vOne of the crank arms is extendv ed into a handle 15, whereby the bolts can be conveniently manipulated. On the jaw element Bare provided stops '16 and 17 between which the handle-carrying crank 1A is movable, whereby the lugs limit the locking and unlocking movement of the bolts.

The jaw elements A and B are provided with alining openings 18 at their jaw portions, which openings intersect the recesses 7, and slidable in these openings 18 is a wedge 19 that is permanently maintained on the jaws by a transverse pin 20 in the smaller end of the wedge, and by means of the larger end of the wedge, which larger end is of such dimensions that it cannot pass through the openings 18, and the pin 20 being longer than the width of the wedge so as to form lugswhich engage thej aw element A and prevent the wedge from becoming detached. After the jaw elements are clamped to a rail t-he wedge 19 is driven in a direction to wedge the same between the tread surface of the rail 8 and the upper surface or wall of the recess or recesses 18 in the body of the clamp. In this manner the clamp is firmly held against longitudinal movement on the rail, and consequently the steam shovel or other machinery with which the clamp is used is firmly held in place. In opening the clamp the wedge is first driven out by striking the thin end thereof and the projections formed by the ends of the pin 2O engage under inclined surfaces or abutments 21 on the jaw element A, and in this manner the wedge is held in such a position that it does not interfere with the free opening of the jaws, for without the abutments or lugs 2l the wedge assumes` acantered position, which renders the opening of the jaw elements diiicult.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and method of operation and of the device shown will be readily understood by those skilled inthe art to which the invention appertains, and while we have described the principle of operation, together with the device which we now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, we desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative, and that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A rail clamp comprising hingedly connected jaw members, locking bolts rotatably mounted on one member, the other member having slots to receive the bolts, and the bolts having lugs movable into and out of the slots and engageable with the outer surface of the slotted member, and means for operating the bolts simultaneously.

2. A rail clamp comprising hingedly connected aw members, locking bolts rotatably mounted on one member, the other'rmember having slots to receive the bolts, and theV preventing detachment of the latter from the jaw members, and the larger end ofthe wedge being of greater dimensions than the said opening to prevent the wedge from passing therethrough, and inclined abutments on one of the jaw members for engagement with the said means on the wedge when the latter' is in fully released position,VY

whereby the jaw members can be opened wthout the wedge interfering.

4. A rail clamp comprising'hingedly connected jaw members, a plurality of locking means carried by one member and engageable with the other member, and connecting means between the locking means for causing simultaneous movement thereof toV or from locking position. Y

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH P. BRADEN. WILLIAM D. PALMER-` Witnesses:

L. C. SIMoNs, J. M. PHILLirs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

